Within the UK, halloween has a rich and varied history, the traditions vary in Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. So does the pronunciation. To my knowledge;
Scottish/Northern English; 'sav-een'
Welsh; 'sow-een' (sow like 'sour')
Irish; 'sah-when'
Many practicing Pagans and Witches (those who live the lifestyle and pray, arranging ritual and life choices in accord with the faith, rather than those who simply describe themselves as 'Pagan' because they love plants and have read some books) will have an ancestor altar within their home. This is often a display of photographs and mementos of relatives who have passed away. A candle or other token such as flowers and food can be left here as a way of remembering and respecting family. Some of these altars are created just for Samhain, other people will have one up all year round. It would be offensive to leave your coffee cup or other tat on an altar, even though some of these may look like display tables with pictures and ornaments on them.
I'm going to briefly write of my own experiences here. For many years I did not create any kind of ancestor ritual, altar, worship or prayers. This is because due to rifts in the family I don't speak to most of my living relatives. As for my ancestors, I knew many had a Christian background and later found some were Roman Catholic. This created a bit of a moral pickle for me. Would my ancestors approve of a Pagan ceremony being carried out on their behalf? In the end, does it matter? I do pray a little to some of my relatives, particularly those pre 1900. It must have been harsh living back then at times. Researching my family tree has been one of the most helpful and emotional experiences that I've had.
There are two traditions that we have in my home at this time of year- one is called 'guising' in Scotland or 'trick or treating' to many others. The idea is to dress up in such a way that the wandering dead think we are also dead or hungry ghosts and they will leave us alone- or to trick people into giving us treats. Some traditions suggest that we leave offerings of food out for these wandering souls. It's also fun to dress up, all ages can enjoy being creative. This year I dressed as a plague doctor.
The other tradition is to carve a lantern for a candle, said to scare away unwanted spirits or to act as a guiding light for ancestors. Tradition in Northern England and Scotland is to use a turnip. The American addition of pumpkins - which are easier to carve- is better known. I did both this year and ate the flesh in soups.
It seems a bit odd to me that Samhain is on the 31st each year, even though we have a leap year every four years which means that the days are a little different and our current calendar is different to the one used in ancient Britain. It's not an exact festival when we realise these differences. Quite often, it still 'feels' like Samhain right through November for me. To compromise for these quirks, I begin to celebrate from September and consider all of October to be an extended ancestor 'night'. It's my favourite festival even though my ancestor connection is a bit rough around the edges.
Commercial endeavors have placed this sacred night into a candy infested scream fest of violence and horror. Who knows what happened to cause people to think it's appropriate to decorate the home with plastic body parts or to scare people. We should not be afraid of the spirit world, of people in spirit. However, in the spirit of reminding everyone what a piece of scum Matthew Hopkins was, I gave my cat (see cover picture) a catnip doll of the 'witchfinder general' himself.
Doll available from Mad Old Cat Lady on Etsy.
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